Minor League Schedule: A Good Day For Lefties

Gerrit Cole is now listed as the starting pitcher Indianapolis today, so that leaves only two lefties going. Updated below to remove Kris Johnson and add in Cole. Indianapolis has an early afternoon start today. Prior to the start of last night’s Altoona game, they completed their suspended game from May 23rd. Reading ended up winning that game by a 6-5 score. Two new teams are on the daily schedule as the Dominican Summer League season got under way Saturday. For a look at the players to watch on the DSL teams, check out our season preview here. For a look at the possible starters over the next few weeks, please check out our Probable Pitchers Chart. Check out the Recent Transactions section to the bottom of this page, for all Pirates minor league transactions. A full recap of yesterday’s action can be found here.

Pimentel hopes his first June start reminds him more of April than May. Photo Credit: Mark Olson

Gerrit Cole will make his 12th start of the season today. He has pitched 61 innings, allowing 41 hits, four homers and 27 walks. Cole has struck out 44 batters, posted a 1.25 GO/AO ratio and held batters to a .195 BAA. After giving up three hits to lead off his start on 5/25, Cole has gone 13 straight innings without allowing a run, giving up just two hits over that span. He is 2-1, 3.13 in five home starts.

Stolmy Pimentel will start for the 12th time this season. He has pitched a total of 64.1 innings this year, allowing 65 hits, seven homers and 28 walks. He has 49 strikeouts, a 1.06 GO/AO ratio and a .260 BAA. Pimentel has had two totally different months this season. In five April starts, he allowed one run over 30.1 innings. In the month of May, he had a 7.19 ERA in six starts, allowing batters to hit .319 over his 34 innings. He tied his season high with ten hits allowed in his last start.

Eliecer Navarro will get his 11th start of the season. He has also pitched once in relief. Navarro was finally able to pick up his first win of the year in his last start. He went seven shutout innings, giving up three hits, a walk and he struck out seven batters. On the year, he has walked 12 batters, struck out 55 in 61.1 innings and held hitters to a .247 BAA. He has yet to allow a homer or walk to a left-handed batter in 58 AB’s. At home this year, Navarro is 1-3, 1.91 in five starts.

Joely Rodriguez will make his 12th start of the season tonight. He has thrown a total of 60 innings, allowing 60 hits, four homers and 16 walks. He has struck out 48 batters, while getting a 2.08 GO/AO ratio and he has held hitters to a .265 BAA. All of his homers allowed have been to right-handed batters. In his last start, Rodriguez allowed three runs over five innings to Lakewood. He had faced that same Lakewood team five days earlier. In his previous six starts combined, he had given up just three earned runs total. He has a 2.84 home ERA vs 2.86 on the road.

John Dreker

John was born in Kearny, NJ, hometown of the 2B for the Pirates 1909 World Championship team, Dots Miller. In fact they have some of the same relatives in common, so it was only natural for him to become a lifelong Pirates fan. Before joining Pirates Prospects in July 2010, John had written numerous articles on the history of baseball while also releasing his own book and co-authoring another on the history of the game. He writes a weekly article on Pirates history for the site, has already interviewed many of the current minor leaguers with many more on the way and follows the foreign minor league teams very closely for the site. John also provides in person game reports of the West Virginia Power and Altoona Curve.